Colored contact lens and method of making same

ABSTRACT

A method coloring a contact lens. The method comprises providing a contact lens having a pupil region and a generally annular-shaped iris region surrounding the pupil region. The iris region is adapted to at least partially cover a wearer&#39;s iris when the wearer is wearing the contact lens. The method further comprises providing a printer assembly having an inkjet print head, and using the printer assembly to deposit at least one colorant on the iris region of the contact lens in a manner to alter the appearance of the iris of the wearer when the wearer is wearing the contact lens.

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/821,620, filed Mar. 29, 2001 now U.S. Pat No. 6,767,097, and entitledColored Contact Lens and Method of Making Same, and incorporated hereinby reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to colored contact lenses and methods of makingcolored contact lenses.

Colored contact lenses are often used for cosmetic purposes to changethe apparent color of a wearer's irises. For example, a person withbrown or blue eyes desiring to have green eyes may wear green coloredcontact lenses to change the apparent color of a wearer's iris to green.

Conventionally, coloring of contact lenses for cosmetic purposes isachieved by printing a colored pattern onto a lens substrate via a padprinting process. The pad printing process employs a generally flatsteel plate also known as a cliché. A pattern (or depression) is etchedinto the cliché by a photo-etching process. In operation, ink placed inthe pattern is transferred to the lens substrate by a printing pad. Toachieve a colored lens of multiple colors, different colored inks areplaced into three or fewer different patterns and serially transferredto the lens substrate by printing pads.

A disadvantage associated with conventional methods of coloring contactlens substrates is that such methods cannot achieve patterns of highdetail or resolution. In other words, the printed pattern on the lenssubstrate does not have nearly the detail of a human iris. The inabilityto achieve patterns of high resolution also prevents use of more thanthree different patterns on a lens substrate. As such, an observerviewing the wearer's eyes from less than five feet away may determinethat the wearer is wearing colored lenses.

Knapp U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,402 discloses a contact lens substrate havingan intermittent opaque pattern thereon with portions left uncolored toallow the wearer's iris to show through. Knapp discloses that thepattern is not visible to the naked eye when viewed from a distance ofat least five feet by an ordinary viewer (i.e., a person having normal20/20 vision). However, the ordinary viewer viewing the wearer's eyesfrom a closer distance might determine that the pattern is not anaturally occurring pattern. In other words, the ordinary viewer mightcorrectly determine that the wearer is wearing colored contact lenses.

Jahnke U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,477 and O'Campo U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,705, likethe Knapp patent, disclose contact lenses having opaque intermittentelements and noncolored regions through which significant portions ofthe wearer's iris structure are visible. These patents disclose makingthe intermittent elements of a single contact lens having up to threedifferent color elements. However, because an actual human iristypically is an intricate looking structure having hundreds or thousandsof different colors, contact lenses of these prior art patents allow thestructure of the iris to show through the uncolored portions. Onedisadvantage of allowing significant portions of the wearer's iris toshow through is that the visible portions of the wearer's iris combinedwith the visible portions of the intermittent pattern sometimes resultsin an unnatural looking iris. In particular, if the wearer's iris isdark brown and the colored elements of the contact lens pattern islight, the combination results in a pronounced, hyper-contrast whichdoes not look natural.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Among the several objects and advantages of the present invention may benoted the provision of an improved colored contact lens; the provisionof such a colored contact lens having an iris section colored in amanner to effectuate a change in the appearance of the wearer's iris butwhich makes the presence of the contact lens substantially imperceptibleto an observer observing the wearer's eyes from a close distance; theprovision of such a colored contact lens having a colorant image printedon the iris section of greater resolution than images printed on priorart colored contact lenses; the provision of a contact lens capable ofeffectuating a natural looking change in the appearance of the wearer'siris regardless of the actual color of the wearer's iris; the provisionof a method of coloring a lens substrate in which the colored lenssubstrate more closely resembles a human iris than does a colored lenssubstrate made by conventional methods; and the provision of a method ofcoloring a lens substrate to form a colored lens having a pattern ofgreater intricacy.

Generally, a method of the present invention is for coloring a contactlens. The method comprises providing a contact lens having a pupilregion and a generally annular-shaped iris region surrounding the pupilregion, and providing a printer assembly having an inkjet print head.The iris region is adapted to at least partially cover a wearer's iriswhen a wearer is wearing the contact lens. The method further comprisesusing the printer assembly to deposit at least one colorant on the irisregion of the contact lens in a manner to alter the appearance of theiris of the wearer when the wearer is wearing the contact lens.

Another aspect of the present invention is a colored contact lenscomprising a non-opaque pupil region, a generally annular-shaped irisregion surrounding the pupil region and adapted to cover at least 80% ofa wearer's iris when the wearer is wearing the contact lens. At leastfirst, second, third, and fourth colored patterns are on the irisregion. The first colored pattern is of a first color. The secondcolored pattern is of a second color different than the first color. Thethird colored pattern is of a third color different than the first andsecond colors. The fourth colored pattern is of a fourth color differentthan the first, second and third colors. The colored patterns arearranged on the iris region in a manner to form an opaque compositepattern on the iris region. At least approximately 85% of the compositepattern is no more than one color layer thick. The composite pattern isconfigured and arranged to give the appearance of a natural iris whenthe wearer is wearing the colored contact lens, thereby providing a lenscapable of altering the appearance of the iris of the wearer when thewearer is wearing the contact lens.

Another aspect of the present invention is a colored contact lenscomprising a non-opaque pupil region, a generally annular-shaped irisregion surrounding the pupil region and adapted to cover at least 80% ofa wearer's iris when the wearer is wearing the contact lens. At leastfirst, second, third, and fourth colored patterns are on the irisregion. The first colored pattern is of a first color. The secondcolored pattern is of a second color different than the first color. Thethird colored pattern is of a third color different than the first andsecond colors. The fourth colored pattern is of a fourth color differentthan the first, second and third colors. The colored patterns arearranged on the iris region in a manner to form an opaque compositepattern on the iris region in which no portion of the composite patternis more than two color layers thick. The composite pattern is configuredand arranged to give the appearance of a natural iris when the wearer iswearing the colored contact lens, thereby providing a lens capable ofaltering the appearance of the iris of the wearer when the wearer iswearing the contact lens.

Another aspect of the present invention is a colored contact lenscomprising a non-opaque pupil region, a generally annular-shaped irisregion surrounding the pupil region and adapted to cover at least 80% ofa wearer's iris when the wearer is wearing the contact lens. At leastfirst, second, third, and fourth colored patterns are on the irisregion. The first colored pattern is of a first color. The secondcolored pattern is of a second color different than the first color. Thethird colored pattern is of a third color different than the first andsecond colors. The fourth colored pattern is of a fourth color differentthan the first, second and third colors. The first colored patterncomprises a plurality of spaced-apart elements and the second coloredpattern comprising a plurality of spaced-apart elements. The coloredpatterns are arranged on the iris region in a manner to form an opaquecomposite pattern covering at least 75% of the iris region. At leastapproximately 85% of the composite pattern is no more than two colorlayers thick. The composite pattern is configured and arranged to givethe appearance of a natural iris when the wearer is wearing the coloredcontact lens, thereby providing a lens capable of altering theappearance of the iris of the wearer when the wearer is wearing thecontact lens.

Another aspect of the present invention is a colored contact lenscomprising a non-opaque pupil region and a generally annular-shaped irisregion surrounding the pupil region and adapted to cover at least 80% ofa wearer's iris when the wearer is wearing the contact lens. At leastfirst, second, third, and fourth colored patterns are on the irisregion. The first colored pattern is of a first color. The secondcolored pattern is of a second color different than the first color. Thethird colored pattern is of a third color different than the first andsecond colors. The fourth colored pattern is of a fourth color differentthan the first, second and third colors. The colored patterns arearranged on the iris region in a manner to form an opaque compositepattern on the iris region in which no portion of the first coloredpattern overlaps with the second and third colored patterns and noportion of the second colored pattern overlaps with the third coloredpattern. The composite pattern is configured and arranged to give theappearance of a natural iris when the wearer is wearing the coloredcontact lens, thereby providing a lens capable of altering theappearance of the iris of the wearer when the wearer is wearing thecontact lens.

Another aspect of the present invention is a colored contact lenscomprising a non-opaque pupil region and a generally annular-shaped irisregion surrounding the pupil region and adapted to cover at least 80% ofa wearer's iris when the wearer is wearing the contact lens. Amulti-color composite pattern is on the iris region. The compositepattern comprises a plurality of distinct elements. Each of at least 25%of the elements have a surface area no greater than 6000 square microns.

Another aspect of the present invention is a colored contact lenscomprising a non-opaque pupil region and a generally annular-shaped irisregion surrounding the pupil region and adapted to cover at least 80% ofa wearer's iris when the wearer is wearing the contact lens. Amulti-color composite pattern is on the iris region. The compositepattern comprises a plurality of distinct elements. Each of at least 20%of the elements are within 50 μm of an adjacent one of the elements.

Another aspect of the present invention is a colored contact lenscomprising a non-opaque pupil region and a generally annular-shaped irisregion surrounding the pupil region and adapted to cover at least 80% ofa wearer's iris when the wearer is wearing the contact lens. Amulti-color composite pattern is on the iris region. The compositepattern comprises at least 3000 distinct elements.

Another aspect of the present invention is a colored contact lenscomprising a non-opaque pupil region and a generally annular-shaped irisregion surrounding the pupil region and adapted to cover at least 80% ofa wearer's iris when the wearer is wearing the contact lens. Amulti-color composite pattern is on the iris region. The compositepattern comprises at least twenty five different colors.

Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointedout hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a printing apparatus ofthe present invention having an inkjet print mechanism and a padprinting transfer mechanism;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side elevational view of the printing apparatus ofFIG. 1 showing inkjet print heads of the inkjet print mechanismdepositing colorant on a transfer pad of the pad printing transfermechanism;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side elevational view of the printing apparatus ofFIG. 2 showing the transfer pad spaced from the inkjet print mechanismafter the colorant has been deposited on the transfer pad;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side elevational view of the printing apparatus ofFIG. 3 showing the transfer pad with the colorant thereon brought intoregistration with a contact lens adapted to receive the colorant;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side elevational view of the printing apparatus ofFIG. 4 showing the transfer pad pressed against the contact lens totransfer the colorant from the transfer pad to the contact lens;

FIG. 6 is a schematic side elevational view of another embodiment of aprinting apparatus of the present invention having an inkjet printmechanism and a lens support mechanism, the printing apparatus beingadapted to directly apply colorants to a contact lens substrate, thelens support mechanism being shown tilting a lens holder to the right;

FIG. 7 is a schematic side elevational view of the printing apparatus ofFIG. 6, but showing the lens support mechanism supporting the lensholder in an upright position;

FIG. 8 is a schematic side elevational view of the printing apparatus ofFIG. 6, but showing the lens support mechanism tilting the lens holderto the left;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged front elevational view of a colored contact lensof the present invention comprising a contact lens substrate and amulti-color composite pattern printed on the contact lens substrate;

FIG. 10 is front elevational view of a first colored pattern of themulti-colored composite pattern of FIG. 9, the first colored patternbeing of a first color;

FIG. 11 is front elevational view of a second colored pattern of themulti-colored composite pattern of FIG. 9, the second colored patternbeing of a second color different than the first color;

FIG. 12 is front elevational view of a third colored pattern of themulti-colored composite pattern of FIG. 9, the third colored patternbeing of a third color different than the first and second colors;

FIG. 13 is front elevational view of a fourth colored pattern of themulti-colored composite pattern of FIG. 9, the fourth colored patternbeing of a fourth color different than the first, second and thirdcolors; and

FIG. 14 is an enlarged, fragmented front elevational view of themulti-colored composite pattern of FIG. 9 showing some characteristicsof the intricacy of the composite pattern.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, and first more particularly to FIGS. 1-5,a printing apparatus of the present invention is generally indicated byreference numeral 20. The printing apparatus 20 is adapted to depositone or more colorants on a contact lens substrate, generally indicatedat 22, in a manner to alter the appearance of the iris of a wearer whenthe wearer is wearing the contact lens substrate.

The printing apparatus 20 comprises an inkjet print mechanism, generallyindicated at 24, and a pad printing transfer mechanism, generallyindicated at 26. The inkjet print mechanism 24 comprises a plurality ofinkjet print heads 30 and an advancing mechanism 32 for moving the printheads during a printing operation. Preferably, the print heads 30 areadapted to facilitate full color printing of a digital graphic image.The pad printing transfer mechanism 26 comprises a transfer pad 34(preferably of silicone rubber) and a pad moving mechanism (not shown)for moving the pad. The printing apparatus 20 is adapted and configuredto print a digital graphic image on a contact lens substrate 22. Moreparticularly, the printing apparatus 20 is preferably operable to printa digital graphic image on a transfer surface 36 of the transfer pad 34via the print heads 30, and then transfer the digital graphic image fromthe transfer surface to the contact lens substrate 22.

The inkjet print mechanism 24 is preferably of a conventional ink-jetprinter, such as a thermal or bubble jet printer, a piezoelectricprinter, a continuous flow printer, or a valve jet printer. The inkjetprint mechanism 24 may be of a Hewlett Packard HP2000C inkjet printer,an Epson Stylist Color 880 printer, or any other suitable inkjetprinter. The advancing mechanism 32 of the inkjet print mechanism 24preferably comprises a print head carrier tractor ribbon of thecommercially available inkjet printer, for laterally moving the printheads. The advancing mechanism 32 also includes a mechanism for movingthe print heads longitudinally. The commercially available inkjetprinters generally move a paper substrate longitudinally relative to theprint heads via a friction paper feed mechanism while the print headsare moved laterally so that a two-dimensional image may be transferredto the paper substrate. In the preferred embodiment, the friction paperfeed of the commercially available printer is modified to longitudinallymove the print heads 30. Thus, the print heads 30 are moved laterallyvia the print head carrier tractor ribbon and moved longitudinally viathe modified friction paper feed mechanism so that a two-dimensionalimage may be printed on the transfer pad 34. The pad printing transfermechanism 26 may be of a Comek model # LC50 pad printer, commerciallyavailable from Pad Printing Machinery Of VT, Inc., Manchester Village,Vt., or any other suitable pad printing transfer mechanism.

The digital graphic image may be generated on any conventional computer(not shown) using commercially available software, such as AdobeIllustrator®, commercially available from Adobe Systems Incorporated ofPalo Alto, Calif., or Paint Shop Pro™, commercially available from JASCSoftware, Inc. of Eden Prairie, Minn. The digital graphic image may beartistically rendered using the software, may be a scanned image, or maybe generated by a digital camera. The computer preferably communicateswith the printing apparatus 20 via any suitable data transfer device(e.g., conventional data transfer lines (not shown)) capable oftransmitting digitally generated images electronically. The digitalgraphic image may be any suitable image to color a contact lenssubstrate. Preferably, the image is of the type and has thecharacteristics described below with reference to FIGS. 9-14.

Reference is again made to FIGS. 1-5 which illustrate operation of theprinting apparatus 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer pad 34 isbrought into registration with the print heads 30. The transfer pad 34is then pressed against a print platform 38 of the printing apparatus 20to compress the pad such that the pad's transfer surface 36 issubstantially flat (FIG. 2). The print platform 38 is between the printheads 30 and the transfer pad 34. An ink transfer port 46 through theprint platform 38 allows communication between the print heads 30 andthe transfer pad 32 to enable the print heads to deposit colorants(e.g., inks) 40 onto the transfer surface 36. With the transfer pad 32so positioned, the print heads 30 are then operated to deposit thecolorants 40 on the transfer surface 36 to thereby print the digitalgraphic image onto the transfer surface. The digital graphic image isrepresented by the reference numeral 42. FIG. 3 shows the digitalgraphic image 42 on the transfer surface 36. The transfer pad 32 is thenbrought into registration (FIG. 4) with the contact lens substrate 22held on a lens holder 48 and then pressed (FIG. 5) against the contactlens substrate to deposit the colorants 40 on the lens substrate. Thetransfer pad 32 is then released from the contact lens substrate 22 andthe colorants 40 are allowed to dry. Thus, the digital graphic image 42is transferred from the transfer surface 36 of the transfer pad 32 tothe contact lens substrate 22.

The colorants 40 used for coloring the contact lens substrate 22 may beany suitable colorant of the type used for coloring contact lenses. Thecolorants may be more or less opaque depending on the degree of colorchange desired. The opacity may be varied by modifying the proportion ofpigment to binder in the colorant. Highly opaque colorants may bedesired in some applications, somewhat less opaque colorants may bedesired in other applications, and colorants of different opacities maybe desired in still others.

Although the method of FIGS. 1-5 has been described as coloring contactlenses, it is to be understood that the method may also be employed tocolor objects other than contact lenses. It is envisioned that suchother objects could be any type of object to which an image is printedvia a pad printing process.

Referring now to FIGS. 6-8, another printing apparatus of the presentinvention is indicated generally by the reference numeral 120. Thepurpose of the printing apparatus 120 is the same as that of theprinting apparatus 20 of FIGS. 1-5, i.e., to print a digital graphicimage on a contact lens substrate 22. Unlike the printing apparatus 20,the printing apparatus 120 is devoid of a transfer pad and prints theimage directly on the contact lens substrate 22.

The printing apparatus 120 comprises an inkjet print mechanism,generally indicated at 124, and a lens support mechanism, generallyindicated at 126. The inkjet print mechanism 124 comprises a pluralityof inkjet print heads 130 and an advancing mechanism 132 for moving theprint heads during a printing operation. The inkjet print mechanism 124is the same as the inkjet print mechanism 24 of FIGS. 1-5. Thus, it isto be understood that the description above as to the print mechanism 24is equally applicable to the print mechanism 124. The lens supportmechanism 126 preferably comprises a pan and tilt mechanism, generallyindicated at 134, and a lens holder 136. The pan and tilt mechanism maybe of any suitable pan and tilt mechanism, such as Pan-Tilt Unit modelPTU-46-17.5 with nodal (gimbal) option and software driver kit availablein event driven ASCII commands for simplicity, or alternatively, the c++developers kit to produce binary commands for speed, commerciallyavailable from Directed Perception, Inc., Burlingame, Calif. The outersurface of the contact lens substrate 22 is convex. To achieve properimage transfer to the convex outer surface of the contact lens substrate22, it is desirable that the print heads 130 are at a constant distancefrom the portion of the lens surface to which colorant is beingdeposited. The pan and tilt mechanism 134 moves the lens holder 136 andthe contact lens substrate 22 thereon while the print heads 130 aredepositing colorant on the lens surface. As shown in FIG. 6, the pan andtilt mechanism 134 tilts the lens holder 136 to the right relative tothe print heads 130 when the print heads deposit colorant on leftwardportions of the outer surface of the contact lens substrate 22. As shownin FIG. 8, the pan and tilt mechanism 134 tilts the lens holder 136 tothe left relative to the print heads 130 when the print heads depositcolorant on rightward portions of the outer surface of the contact lenssubstrate 22. Although not shown, it is to be understood that the panand tilt mechanism also tilts the lens holder 136 forward and backrelative to the print heads 130 when the print heads deposit colorant onrearward and forward portions of the outer surface of the contact lenssubstrate 22. Thus, the advancing mechanism 132 moves the print heads130 laterally and longitudinally while the pan and tilt mechanism tiltsthe lens holder 136 and contact lens substrate 22 laterally andlongitudinally so that the distance between print heads and the portionof the contact lens substrate to which colorants are being depositedremains substantially constant.

Although the printing apparatus 120 has been described as moving thecontact lens substrate 22 while the graphic image is being deposited onthe substrate to maintain the same distance, it is to be understood thatthe printing apparatus 120 could be modified in a manner to maintain thedistance by moving the print heads alone while keeping the substratestationary.

Also, although the method of FIGS. 6-8 has been described as beingemployed for coloring contact lenses, it is to be understood that themethod may also be employed to color objects other than contact lenses.It is envisioned that such other objects could be any type of objectupon which an image may be printed, especially objects having convex orconcave printing surfaces. In such applications, it is to be understoodthat the lens holder would act as an object holder, and that the pan andtilt mechanism would tilt the object holder laterally andlongitudinally. Because the pan and tilt mechanism tilts the objectholder both laterally and longitudinally, the method of FIGS. 6-8 iseven more especially useful for printing images on printing surfaceswhich are not linear in any cross section (e.g., ellipsoidal, spheroidaland paraboloidal sections).

Referring now to FIG. 9, an embodiment of a colored contact lens of thepresent invention is generally indicated at 150. The colored contactlens 150 comprises the contact lens substrate 22 and the digital graphicimage 42. The contact lens substrate 22 comprises a non-opaque pupilregion 152 and a generally annular-shaped iris region 154 surroundingthe pupil region and adapted to cover at least 80% of a wearer's iriswhen the wearer is wearing the contact lens substrate. The contact lenssubstrate 22 further includes an annular-shaped transition region 156between the pupil region 152 and iris region 154. The transition region156 is sized and adapted to cover the area of the iris/pupil whichvaries with changes in light condition. Preferably, the digital graphimage 42 comprises a multi-color composite pattern (also indicated bythe reference number 42) printed on the iris region 154. The multi-colorcomposite pattern 42 is configured and arranged to give the appearanceof a natural iris when the wearer is wearing the color contact lenssubstrate 150. The composite pattern 42 covers preferably at least 30%of the iris region 154, more preferably at least 50% of the iris region,more preferably at 75% of the iris region, and more preferably at least95% of the iris region. Preferably, only a relatively small percent,e.g., less than 50%, of the transition region 156 is covered by thecomposite pattern 42. Covering a small percent of the transition region156 allows light to pass through the transition region and into thewearer's pupil when the wearer's pupils are dilated, but partially masksthe wearer's iris when the wearer's pupils are contracted. The compositepattern 42 comprises a plurality of colored patterns each being of adifferent color. In this embodiment, the composite pattern 42 comprisesfirst, second, third and fourth colored patterns 160, 162, 164, 166meshed together. The four colored patterns are separately shown in FIGS.10-13. The first colored pattern 160, shown in FIG. 10, is of a firstcolor. The second colored pattern 162, shown in FIG. 11, is of a secondcolor different than the first color. The third colored pattern 164,shown in FIG. 12, is of a third color different than the first andsecond colors. The fourth colored pattern 166, shown in FIG. 13, is of afourth color different than the first, second and third colors. Thecolors chosen for the colored patterns 160, 162, 164, 166 depends on theiris color desired for the colored contact lens 150. If a coloredcontact lens capable of changing the appearance of a wearer's iris toblue is desired, then the colored patterns 160, 162, 164, 166 may havethe following colors depicted by the CMYK color scheme: the first colormay be 83% cyan, 51% magenta, 18% yellow, and 33% black; the secondcolor may be 94% cyan, 81% magenta, 0% yellow, and 0% black; the thirdcolor may be 96% cyan, 61% magenta, 16% yellow, and 17% black; and thefourth color may be 37% cyan, 44% magenta, 95% yellow, and 53% black. Ifa colored contact lens capable of changing the appearance of a wearer'siris to aqua is desired, then the colored patterns 160, 162, 164, 166may have the following colors depicted by the CMYK color scheme: thefirst color may be 49% cyan, 32% magenta, 23% yellow, and 19% black; thesecond color may be 84% cyan, 0% magenta, 22% yellow, and 0% black; thethird color may be 91% cyan, 61% magenta, 23% yellow, and 29% black; andthe fourth color may be 76% cyan, 36% magenta, 78% yellow, and 78%black. If a colored contact lens capable of changing the appearance of awearer's iris to green is desired, then the colored patterns 160, 162,164, 166 may have the following colors depicted by the CMYK colorscheme: the first color may be 85% cyan, 32% magenta, 60% yellow, and67% black; the second color may be 92% cyan, 13% magenta, 95% yellow,and 2% black; the third color may be 94% cyan, 31% magenta, 98% yellow,and 29% black; and the fourth color may be 53% cyan, 44% magenta, 98%yellow, and 53% black. Although precise colors have been disclosed it isto be understood that the above colors are merely exemplary. Othercolors could be employed without departing from the scope of thisinvention.

Although shown in FIGS. 10-13 as being four separate patterns it is tobe understood that the colored patterns 160, 162, 164, 166 may beprinted on the contact lens substrate one at a time or simultaneouslywithout departing from the scope of this invention. Also, although thecomposite pattern 42 of this embodiment is described as being of onlyfour colored patterns, it is to be understood that the composite patternmay be of any number of colored patterns within the limits of theprinting methods employed to color a contact lens substrate. If, forexample, the contact lens substrate 22 is colored by either of theabove-described inkjet printing methods, the composite pattern 42 mayinclude hundreds of different colors.

If colored patterns are applied in a serial manner (e.g., a first coloris printed on the lens substrate, then a second color is printed on thesubstrate, then a third color is printed on the substrate, etc.), thenit is possible, but not necessarily desirable, to print one color layeron another color layer. Generally, multiple color layers on the contactlens substrate is undesirable because the increased layering oftenirritates a wearer's eyelid. Preferably, no portion of the compositepattern 42 is more than two color layers thick, and at least 85% of thecomposite pattern is no more than one color layer thick. Morepreferably, at least 95% of the composite pattern 42 is no more than onecolor layer thick. Most preferably, no portion of the composite pattern42 is more than one color layer thick. In other words, it is mostpreferable that none of the colored patterns overlap.

The composite pattern 42 is sufficiently intricate and detailed makesthe presence of the contact lens substrate substantially imperceptibleto an observer observing the wearer's eyes, even when the observer isobserving the wearer's eyes from a close distance (e.g., six inchesaway). In other words, the intricacy of the composite pattern issufficient to change the apparent color of the wearer's iris in such anatural way that a close observer cannot detect that the wearer iswearing a colored contact lens substrate. FIG. 14 is an enlarged,fragmented front elevational view of the multi-colored composite pattern42 showing some characteristics of the intricacy of the compositepattern. Preferably, the composite pattern 42 is comprised of aplurality of distinct elements. In FIG. 14, the distinct elements areindicated by reference numeral prefixes 170, 172, 174, 176 followed byalpha suffixes a, b, c, d. The prefixes are used herein for convenienceto indicate which distinct elements are of the same color. Inparticular, all distinct elements indicated by the prefix 170 are of thefirst color, all distinct elements indicated by the prefix 172 are ofthe second color, all distinct elements indicated by the prefix 174 areof the third color, and all distinct elements indicated by the prefix176 are of the fourth color. The suffixes are employed herein forconvenience to distinguish one element of a color from another elementof the same color.

Each distinct element is preferably spaced from other distinct elementsof the same color. For example, element 170 a is spaced from element 170b. However, a distinct element may border another distinct element of adifferent color. For example, element 170 a of the first color borderselement 172 a of the second color and element 176 c of the fourth color.Preferably, each colored pattern 160, 162, 164, 166 also comprises aplurality of distinct elements. However, it is to be understood that atleast one pattern could be a single intricate element with spacesbetween portions of the element for meshing with elements of differentcolors. To achieve the desired intricacy, the composite pattern 42 ofthe colored contact lens 150 (FIG. 9) preferably comprises at least 800distinct elements and more preferably comprises at least 3000 distinctelements. The distinct elements may be of different sizes and shapes.However, to achieve the desired intricacy, each of at least 25% of thedistinct elements of the composite pattern 42 have a surface areapreferably no greater than 6000 square microns, more preferably nogreater than 4000 square microns, more preferably no greater than 2000square microns, and more preferably no greater than 1000 square microns.The smallness of the surface area of the elements enables the compositepattern to have a more natural appearance than prior art colored contactlenses.

Another preferred characteristic of the composite pattern 42 is minimalspacing between adjacent distinct elements. Each of at least 20% of thedistinct elements are preferably within 50 μm of an adjacent one of theelements, more preferably within 30 μm of an adjacent one of theelements, and more preferably within 10 μm of an adjacent one of theelements. Even more preferably, each of at least 30% of the distinctelements of the composite pattern 42 are within 10 μm of an adjacent oneof the elements. As shown in FIG. 14, many of the distinct elementsborder another distinct element and are therefore spaced 0 μm ofadjacent elements.

Providing the composite pattern 42 with the characteristics describedherein allows the composite pattern to nearly completely mask thewearer's iris in a natural looking manner to enable the wearer toradically change the apparent color of his/her iris. For example, awearer with brown eyes may insert into his/her eye the contact lens 150having the composite pattern 42 adapted to give the appearance of a blueiris. Because the composite pattern 42 has the characteristics describedherein, the composite pattern nearly completely masks the wearer's browniris such that almost none of the wearer's iris is observable throughthe pattern. Also, because of the intricacy of the composite pattern 42,when the contact lens 150 is being worn by the wearer, the compositepattern will give the appearance of a natural iris, even when beingobserved from a close distance (e.g., six inches).

Although the composite pattern 42 has been described as comprisingelements of four different colors, it is to be understood that thecomposite pattern could be comprised of twenty five different coloredpatterns, or 100 different colored patterns or even hundreds ofdifferent color patterns. Also, the different colored patterns may beprinted on the contact lens substrate 22 either serially orsimultaneously without departing from the scope of this invention.Further, the description of the composite pattern 42 being of aplurality of different colored patterns has been made for ease ofunderstanding. In other words, it is not necessary to ever separate themulti-color composite pattern 42 into different colored patterns, atleast not if all colors are applied to the lens substrate 22simultaneously (i.e., in one single step).

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of theinvention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions and methodswithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

1. A method comprising: providing a contact lens having a pupil regionand a generally annular-shaped iris region surrounding the pupil region,the iris region being adapted to at least partially cover a wearer'siris when the wearer is wearing the contact lens; providing a printerassembly having an inkjet print head; using the printer assembly todeposit at least one colorant on the iris region of the contact lens ina manner to alter the appearance of the iris of the wearer when thewearer is wearing the contact lens; the step of using the printerassembly to deposit at least one colorant on the iris region of thecontact lens comprises using the printer assembly to tilt the contactlens both laterally and longitudinally while depositing at least onecolorant on the iris region of the contact lens.
 2. A method as setforth in claim 1 wherein: using the inkjet print head to deposit atleast one colorant on a transfer surface causes the at least onecolorant to be deposited on the transfer surface in a first colorantpattern; and transferring the colorant from the transfer surface to theiris region of the contact lens causes the at least one colorant to bedeposited on the iris region of the contact lens in a second colorantpattern.
 3. A method as set forth in claim 2 wherein the second colorantpattern is different than the first colorant pattern.
 4. A method as setforth in claim 3 wherein the second colorant pattern is a mirror imageof the first colorant pattern.
 5. A method as set forth in claim 2wherein the at least one colorant is directly deposited on the transfersurface via the inkjet print head.
 6. A method as set forth in claim 2wherein the transfer surface comprises a pad printing pad.